Four incumbents and six challengers are running this year for seats on the Hagerstown City Council, which includes five members elected to four-year terms.
The positions on the council are nonpartisan and elected at-large during presidential election years. The council is responsible for adopting policies, ordinances and resolutions for the city, including annual operating and capital budgets. Annual compensation for council members is$8,000.
There are 10 candidates for the five council seats. Councilwoman Shelley McIntire opted not to run for re-election.
Kristin B. Aleshire
Incumbent Kristin Aleshire, 48, was first elected to the Hagerstown City Council in 2000, serving six years before being elected to a term on the Washington County Board of Commissioners, from December 2006 to December 2010. He was re-elected to the city council in 2012, and has served on the council ever since.
He is the town manager for Myersville, Md., and is a graduate of Hagerstown Community College and Salisbury State University.
Caroline Anderson
Caroline Anderson, 33, is the owner of AEON Virtual Office in downtown Hagerstown, a company that caters to small businesses with services that include providing a physical business address, mail handling, meeting spaces, notary services, remote work, business registration and compliance, and technology integration. She has been a Hagerstown resident since 2021.
She has said her priorities for city government are community collaboration, sustainable development and effective governance.
Erika T. Bell
Erika Bell, 44, is a co-owner of Tribe Cold Press Juice Bar in downtown Hagerstown. She has served on the Washington County Commission for Women, is a member of the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Foundation's board of directors and the Washington County Board of Education's ethics advisory panel, and has been involved with other local boards and nonprofit organizations. Bell studied at Hagerstown Community College worked as a licensed dental assistant before opening her business. She founded Community Roots, an organization focused on revitalizing the Jonathan Street neighborhood in Hagerstown.
Bell was one of 18 applicants last year to fill the unexpired council term of Tekesha Martinez after she was appointed mayor. She has said that she's running to be an advocate for the city and to build community.
Mark Bell
Mark Bell, 66, has been a martial arts instructor, real estate broker and defense contractor. He is a graduate of South Hagerstown High School and Towson State University and returned to Hagerstown for retirement last year.
Bell has cited crime, safety and accountability as his priorities for the city.
Tiara R. Burnett
Incumbent Tiara Burnett, 40, is completing her first term on the Hagerstown City Council. She is a senior quality assurance specialist for a cell and gene therapeutic bio-manufacturing company in Frederick, Md., and is a graduate of North Hagerstown High School and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and holds a post-graduate degree from Northeastern University.
Sean Flaherty
Sean Flaherty, 38, is a product support analyst for Integrated Data Services, a California firm specializing in government defense contract work. A city resident of two years, he was the coordinator of the Dewey Central Neighborhoods 1st group and currently serves on the city's planning commission. He was a finalist last year for the City Council vacancy that was created when Tekesha Martinez was appointed to replace Emily Keller as mayor.
Stacy L. Michael
Stacy Michael, 52, is a graduate of South Hagerstown High School and Hagerstown Community College, and was a member of Class 34 of Leadership Hagerstown. She works for salesforce consultant Uptima and currently serves on the boards of Kiwanis Club of Hagerstown and C.A.S.A of Western Maryland, and has been involved in a number of other organizations.
Michael said was a finalist last year for the City Council vacancy that was created when Tekesha Martinez was appointed to replace Emily Keller as mayor. Her priorities for the city, she has said, are youth programs, infrastructure and ecnomic growth.
Peter E. Perini Sr.
Incumbent Peter Perini, 61, was appointed last year to fill a vacancy created on the city council with the resignation of Councilman Bob Bruchey. He has spent his career in real estate and economic development. He is a graduate of Hofstra University and holds a graduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. He also is a graduate and current member of both Leadership Hagerstown (now Leadership Washington County) and Leadership Maryland. He has been involved with many local, state and national nonprofit organizations and committees, including serving on boards or committees of the United Way (as a fundraising campaign chairman), the Hagerstown/Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Hagerstown Committee. He serves on the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown Board of Advisors and is the immediate past chairman.
While this race is nonpartisan, Perini is a former chairman of the Washington County Democratic Central Committee, and served on Gov. Wes Moore's campaign committee in the 2022 election. He also served as a Democratic elector in the 2020 presidential election.
Rich Owens
Rich Owens, 60, and his wife renovated the former Christian Science Reading Room on North Potomac Street and now run the Inn on Potomac bed and breakfast in that building. He has been a city resident since 2013, and is a graduate of Howard University. He has been a construction contractor and worked in radiation oncology.
Owens has cited public safety, jobs and development, and streamlining building revitalization and more inclusive zoning.
Matthew J. Schindler
Incumbent Matthew Schindler, 40, was appointed last year to fill a vacancy left on the city council when Tekesha Martinez became mayor.
He is a graduate of North Hagerstown High School, Hagerstown Community College and the University of Maryland. He is the IT Manager for the National Capital Bank of Washington and currently serves on the board of the Federal Little League and serves on the city Planning Commission. He has previously served on the city Ethics Commission, the CDBG Citizen Committee and as president of the Friends of Safe Place of Washington County / Child Advocacy Center. He is a lifelong resident of Hagerstown.
Schindler has prioritized economic development, addressing blighted properties, substance abuse and mental health, and safety and community outreach.
